PHP Preg_split_once

Question

Preg_match gives one match. Preg_match_all returns all matches. Preg_split returns all splits.

How can I split only the first match?

Example:

preg_split("~\n~",$string);

This is what I want:

array(0=>'first piece',1=>'the rest of the string without any further splits')

Answer 1

Simply set $limit to 2 for 2 parts of the array. Thanks to Ben James for mentioning:

preg_split("~\n~",$string, 2);

I tested and it works fine.

The limit argument:

If specified, then only substrings up to limit are returned with the rest of the string being placed in the last substring. A limit of -1, 0 or null means "no limit" and, as is standard across PHP, you can use null to skip to the flags parameter.

Update:

If it is only new line you want to split:

$fp = strpos($string,"\n");
$arr = new array(substr($string,0,$fp), substr($string,$fp));

Or you can if you insist on preg_split();:

$fp = strpos($string,"\n");
$arr = preg_split("~\n~",$string,$fp);

There's no preg_split_once() or any equivalent.

Answer 2

Just add the limit flag

preg_split("~\n~", $string, 2);

From the manual

If specified, then only substrings up to limit are returned with the rest of the string being placed in the last substring.

Answer 3

I don't have a server to test this on. Try:

preg_split("~\n~",$string,1);

The 1 represents the limit:

Limit: If specified, then only substrings up to limit are returned with the rest of the string being placed in the last substring. A limit of -1, 0 or null means "no limit" and, as is standard across PHP, you can use null to skip to the flags parameter.